The Catholic Church's child protection watchdog has urged Archbishop Diarmuid Martin to come forward with any evidence that parishes are not adhering to abuse guidelines. The head of the National Board for Safeguarding Children said he was not aware of widespread non-compliance with rules on the handling of abuse complaints but warned clergy if they slipped below standards they would be pursued.
In a hard-hitting address to the Knights of Columbanus last week, Archbishop Martin claimed strong forces in the Church would prefer scandals about paedophile priests are kept secret and added that there were worrying signs that despite solid regulations they were not being rigorously followed.
At the launch of the National Board's 2009 annual report, which revealed new allegations against 197 Church figures in the past 12 months, chief executive Ian Elliott said he would raise the issue with Archbishop Martin this week.
Mr Elliott said: "It really is very important that if there is knowledge of non-compliance, essentially, in relation to the standards and guidance, in relation to the norms that he refers to, that we share that information so that it can be addressed. And I believe that Archbishop Martin would know that he could do that with confidence to the National Office, and the matter would be addressed regardless of who it was or where it was. If he had the evidence and shared it with us, we would address it."
Mr Elliott said that without evidence, it would be very hard to take the matter further, he added: "We don't have evidence of widespread non-compliance. On the contrary. We have increasing evidence of a commitment to change. "
In his annual report, the chief executive insisted the safety of the child in the Church should be paramount and said the Church must improve significantly in communicating a sense of regret and remorse for what has happened.
Key findings of the 2009 annual report include: New allegations against 197 people were reported between April 1 2009 and the end of March 2010, all historical in nature. They entail sexual, physical and emotional abuse. None came from young people or children and some dated back over 50 years.
87 referred to clergy in the dioceses and the remaining 110 religious congregations, orders and the missionary societies, 83 of the alleged abusers are dead, thirty-five have been liaised or dismissed from their congregation and three parishes, Ossory, Killala and Clonfert, have no trained safeguarding representative in place - Mr Elliott said this was more an indication of slow movement than resistance.
John Morgan, board chairman, said the Church was undergoing a degree of reflection but much more still needed to be done, including more shared authority with the laity and added that the board wanted to change the attitude of the Church towards abuse allegations.
SIC: BT